Best Buy plans to get small as sales fall

In this March 21, 2011 photo, a wall of television screens is seen at the Best Buy store in Williston, Vt. Best Buys fourth-quarter net income fell 16 percent as the company restructured and faced weak sales of TVs and other electronics Thursday, March 24. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
(Toby Talbot - AP)

In this March 21, 2011 photo, a shopper is seen in front of TV screens at the Best Buy store in Williston, Vt. Best Buys fourth-quarter net income fell 16 percent as the company restructured and faced weak sales of TVs and other electronics Thursday, March 24. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
(Toby Talbot - AP)

NEW YORK -- Weak demand for pricey flat-screen TVs and notebook computers helped push Best Buy Co.'s fourth-quarter net income down 16 percent.

The decline adds urgency to the electronics retailer's bid to remake its business by opening smaller stores and focusing on more profitable, fast-growing categories such as tablet computers and smartphones.

Fourth-quarter net income fell to $651 million, or $1.62 per share, from $779 million, or $1.82 per share.

Best Buy has been restructuring its international operations, particularly in China, and cutting costs in its U.S. supply chain. Excluding costs for those moves, net income totaled $1.98 per share. That beat the $1.84 analysts expected, according to FactSet.

Best Buy, the largest U.S. electronics chain, is contending with declining sales in a changing electronics market where more people are buying online or in discount stores such as Wal-Mart.

As more consumers do research online, they no longer need to traipse to a big-box store to see all of the latest TV models on offer, eliminating a key advantage for Best Buy.

In addition, new TV technologies, such as 3-D and Internet-enabled TVs, have failed to capture Americans' imagination - and dollars - the way smartphones and tablets like Apple Inc.'s iPad have.

To combat this, Best Buy says it is focusing on profitable areas where it has a relatively small share of the market, expanding selections of mobile phones, video games, appliances, e-readers and tablet computers.

It has shrunk space dedicated to less popular products. For example, its cut space for compact discs in half last year.

Best Buy is changing its TV-selling strategy by significantly increasing TV selection online - offering 100 models in stores but 300 more online only at more competitive prices.

The chain is also pushing hard to open smaller stores. The company is opening 150 smaller-format mobile only stores by the end of the year, nearly doubling its total to 325.